


The Black Bayard

by Fire_Bear



Series: Klance Month 2019 [19]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Klance Month 2019, M/M, Self Confidence Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 17:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20510750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Lance has a bayard that isn't his.





	The Black Bayard

As he waited in front of the paw of his Lion, Lance ran his fingers over his bayard. The events of the past quintant had been tough. They’d been quite literally the worst of this war. He could never have predicted what had happened and he’d dealt with them the best that he could. Allura had suffered the most, however, and he wished he could have helped her, but his presence would only make matters worse. 

There were times when he wished that he was back home, truly, deeply - and this was one of them.

The doors opened with a whoosh and Lance looked up. Relief flooded him as Keith stepped in, wearing his old clothes. They were an inch or two too short, the black trousers revealing more of his boots, tight around his waist and crotch. His shirt was tight, too, revealing all the muscles he had built up while he’d been away. If he’d been any broader, he would have looked like Shiro. Lance was surprised that his boots still fit. 

“Hey,” said Keith as he approached Lance. He glanced up at the Lion and Lance grimaced. “What did you want to see me for?”

“Keith,” said Lance, a warning in his tone. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

Blinking, Keith frowned a little. “What do you mean?”

“You sound… You sound like you’re talking to Shiro.”

Both of them fell silent. Lance’s grip on his bayard tightened and it was only by sheer force of will that it didn’t transform. Keith averted his eyes, staring at his shoes. No, _ glaring_. Guilt swept through Lance, just as intense as it had been since that day. He should have _ seen _\- Quickly, he brushed that aside - he couldn’t let himself get swallowed by this until he’d taken care of this problem. So, with a deep breath, he lifted his gaze to Keith, waiting until his movement made Keith look at him.

“Here,” Lance said, holding out the bayard. “Welcome back, I guess.”

Neither of them moved for a long, drawn-out moment. Keith stared at the bayard, his expression twisting. Lance couldn’t tell what he was thinking from that alone. Then again, even _ with _ reading Keith’s expressions - just a little - he’d never foreseen Keith’s departure from the team. Maybe Lance wasn’t as good as reading Keith as he had once thought. _ And _ Keith was older by a couple of years now.

He was a stranger.

“No,” said Keith, shaking his head as he took a step back. “You know I can’t do that.”

“What? What’re you _ talking _ about?” Lance demanded, waving the bayard.

“That isn’t- We don’t have time for another reshuffle,” Keith said. “We’ve got things to do. Shiro-”

“We know where he is,” Lance interjected. “He’s not gonna go anywhere without us knowing. Once everyone’s had a break, we’re gonna go get him. But you need to take this.”

“I said _ no_, Lance,” Keith insisted, folding his arms. It was such a familiar stance that Lance almost smiled. Maybe he wasn’t such a stranger after all.

“Dude. You’re the best one for this. I’m… not.”

“What are you talking about?” Keith snapped, glaring now. “You’re far better than I ever was. You knew when to pull out and- I… I wouldn’t have stopped till-”

“You’re better than that,” Lance insisted. “I bet you would’ve done _ something_.”

“But I _ didn’t_,” said Keith, taking a step forward and unfolding his arms. His fists clenched into fists and Lance flicked a look at them, aware that Keith was feeling frustrated. “I didn’t, because I _ wasn’t here_. You were, Lance, and they look to you now.”

“Only because you weren’t here. But you are now, so-”

“I’m not doing it.”

Lance stood, scowling at Keith. “Shiro wanted you to!”

“I didn’t want it in the first place!” Keith exclaimed, glowering back.

Just as quickly as it had come, Lance’s anger faded and he slumped. “I-I _ can’t _ do this. I don’t know what I’m doing!”

A hand landed on Lance’s arm and he looked up to find Keith looking at him with a kind smile. “Neither did me or Shiro. All we could do was work with what we had and rely on all of you. _ We _ needed _ you_, not the other way around.”

With wide eyes, Lance stared at Keith in shock. He had never been told by anyone that he was _ needed _ . Even when he’d flown Blue to Arus, he hadn’t felt like he had been essential. And there were all those times when he’d messed up and people had told him off. That it was _ Keith _ that was telling him was a little ironic, considering. 

“I… I can’t stand up to Allura when I think she’s wrong,” Lance protested, looking down at the bayard. 

“You will,” said Keith with a confidence Lance didn’t feel.

Snorting, Lance shook his head. He dropped down to sit with his back to the massive paw. With his head still bowed, he only saw out of the corner of his eye as Keith moved beside him and lowered himself down into a seated position. Silence hung over them, questions and answers unsaid. Lance ignored them, too preoccupied by the fear and uneasiness that was threatening to consume him.

Keith sighed. “I know it’s… been a lot. Since, um-”

“Since you left,” said Lance, and lifted his gaze to Keith’s. Some part of him delighted at the flinch he spotted. Another part just wanted to forget about it - that loneliness didn’t matter any more. Lance let out a long breath. “There’s been… a lot happening. And I’ve been a little… stressed. But this. This is way outta my league.”

“No,” said Keith firmly, determination on his face. “You’ll be able to handle it. I know you will. You saw Blue and ran right into her mouth. You saw a bomb and you dove in front of it. You saw that I was making a mistake on my first day as the Black Paladin and you stayed with me. Now it’s your turn and you managed to keep everyone safe, despite being down a Lion. That… That’s impressive. We always struggled with just four, and yet you managed to face Shiro _ and _ Lotor and made sure we can track them both down when we’re ready.”

“Lotor still managed to get away,” Lance pointed out, grasping at straws. Surely there was a mistake he’d made in the last quintant, something that would convince Keith to take the bayard.

“He’d have slipped from our grasp regardless,” Keith told him. “And we’re gonna go get Shiro soon.”

“Maybe… Maybe, when he recovers from whatever they did to him,” said Lance, hopefully, “he’ll take back the Black Lion. He’s her true Paladin, not me.”

Frowning, Keith put a gentle, gloveless hand on Lance’s arm. He hadn’t even noticed that Keith hadn’t bothered to recover his gloves since he got back. “You’re as much her Paladin as Shiro is.”

“So are you.”

“Lance,” said Keith with a sigh. “I thought you wanted to be the leader. Why are you trying so hard to get out of it?”

Ducking his head, Lance mumbled his answer. “I’m gonna mess something up. I usually do. I’m not- I’m not anything _ useful_. All I do is shoot things. I can’t- I can’t be the _ fearless _ leader. I just-”

“Hey,” said Keith, sharply. Lance looked up, blinking in surprise. “Stop it. You’re brilliant. You… You actually _ think _ before you act. You’re not- It doesn’t matter if you’re not like Shiro or me or Allura or even Kolivan. You’re you and you’ll lead us differently, sure. But different doesn’t mean _ useless _ or that you’re doing anything bad.”

“Wha-?” Lance gaped at Keith. He almost couldn’t believe what he’d heard. But Keith was staring at him with a sense of stubborn finality. Apparently, Keith would argue with Lance until he believed that he was worthy of the Lion he sat before, of the bayard in his hands. He didn’t know if it was because of the guilt Keith felt for leaving or for arriving too late to help them stop Shiro, but he seemed determined not to take on the mantle of leader again. It had been something that he’d been pushed into, just as circumstances had forced Lance into bonding with the Black Lion.

It had seemed like everything had been going right for once. Despite his distrust of Lotor that told him to keep his distance, his and Allura’s trip to the quintessence field had gone well. They had even came up to the bridge holding hands. Even though he had been hurt by that, he’d been pleased for Allura that everything had gone well, that they could change the way the Galra operated. 

Then Shiro had collapsed, clutching his head. At the same time, Lotor’s generals had infiltrated the Castle, heading for the ships. Everyone had been alarmed and Hunk was panicking, so Lance took charge. He had sent Pidge, Hunk and Allura down to the hangars and stayed with Shiro and Coran, hoping to figure out what was wrong or get him to a healing pod. Lotor had also been there and maybe that was why everything went downhill after he’d _ split them up _ like Fred freaking Jones.

For reasons they still didn’t know, Shiro had jolted upright and thrown Lance out of his way. Lance had collided with Coran and both of them went careening into one of the consoles before falling to the floor. He had barely been able to see the strange red colour in Shiro’s eyes before he’d been sent flying. However, he _ had _ seen Shiro knock Lotor out before Lotor could so much as draw his sword. Lance had been struggling to his feet when Shiro had slung Lotor over his shoulder and left.

Despite calling down to the others, they were unable to stop him, with Allura too busy with the generals to be able to stop Shiro from taking a pod and Pidge’s hesitation to hurt their friend and leader. Lance hadn’t blamed her, but it meant that they only had four Lions against the new ships and no-one to lead them. Everyone had been a little panicked, but Lance had instinctively taken charge, telling them that they wouldn’t be able to beat them, but they’d be able to track them if they could get one on them, while making it look as though they were taking the fight seriously. Somehow, it had worked and they had retreated soon after the trackers had been deployed. 

But that had only been the start of their problems. There was still no leader and, though they had called for Keith, he was incommunicado on some mission that had taken him far out of the way. Kolivan hadn’t even known if or when he’d return. So Lance had said that there was no choice but to make do, just as they had before. 

And, just like the last time they’d lost a Black Paladin, Lance had been locked out of his Lion. It had been just as devastating, if not more so. He could still vividly remember his heart breaking from Blue’s rejection. But he’d had to ignore it when he’d heard the authoritative growl from Black’s hangar. He’d had to leave Red and rush to Black to join the attack on the base Shiro had gone to. Shiro had managed to hold them at bay and had flown off.

That had been the moment Keith had turned up with news of Lotor’s deception. Allura had been devastated. Everything had felt like it was falling apart, especially when they realised that there was a virus on the ship. None of them had been able to fly after Shiro and they had to rely on Pidge’s failsafe to get them out of that mess. If Lance hadn’t been in charge, he was sure they would have followed Shiro after they had dealt with that, but too many things had been going wrong in a row so he’d insisted on a break. As far as they were aware, Shiro was in no danger on the planet they were orbiting, so they could follow him down there later.

He still wasn’t sure that had been the right decision. Yet, here Keith was, reassuring him once again, telling him that he’d been a good leader so far. Still, it felt wrong to call himself that, especially since he was still wearing the blue armour. Lowering his gaze to the bayard, Lance shook his head, whether to Keith’s words or his own guilty thoughts, he didn’t know.

Something entered his field of vision but, before he could react, he felt something on his cheeks. It took him a moment to realise that Keith’s hands were pulling his face around, _ forcing _ Lance to look at him. Lance blinked, both surprised and unsurprised to see Keith’s serious expression. He lifted his hand, thinking of removing Keith’s by himself, but he stopped as Keith’s eyes fixed on his. The breath left him and he could only stare at Keith.

“You can do this, Lance,” Keith insisted. “You’re doing a good job. Don’t forget that. _ Black _ wanted you. When… I came down here when you weren’t around and Black wouldn’t let me in. She’s chosen _ you _ because you’re a good leader, because you can make calm decisions that I could never do, that _ Shiro _ probably wouldn’t do.” Keith paused. “We all needed this break, even if we’re all worried about Shiro. Just a breather for a varga or two, like you said, so we can all go down there and bring him back. You made the right decisions, and Shiro would tell you that, too.”

Unable to think beyond the hands on his face, Lance carefully nodded. Keith smiled then, apparently satisfied. His left hand slid off Lance’s cheek, leaving a trail of tingles down his face. Keith’s right hand stayed where it was, only sliding down a little until he was cupping Lance’s jaw. Lance stayed as still as possible, wondering where this was going and hoping he didn’t look too shocked. They gazed into each other’s eyes and Lance listened to his heart pounding in his ears. 

Finally, Lance couldn’t take it any longer and broke the silence. “Keith…” he whispered, his body shifting forward almost against his will.

His movement seemed to jerk Keith from whatever turn his thoughts had taken. Keith pulled away from Lance, leaving Lance feeling bereft, even as his skin still burned from where he’d been touched. With eyes averted, Keith’s smile faded a little till it was so small that Lance could barely see it. “We,” Keith said, slowly. “We need to talk. After we’ve dealt with this situation, but before something else crops up.” He raised his eyes to Lance’s again, gaze soft. “There’s something I should have told you a long time ago.”

“But- Keith…” Lance murmured, not sure what was happening any more. 

With a shake of his head, Keith stood. “It’s been a varga,” he said. “I’ll go make sure the others are ready. You should head into Black.” He jerked his head in the Lion’s direction, as if he was pointing her out to Lance.

“Right,” said Lance, staring at him. He watched Keith pause, wave awkwardly, then turn on his heel and stride from the room, his steps lengthening as he sped up. Once the door had closed behind him, Lance let his head fall back against Black’s paw. His heart was still beating hard and he took a deep breath in order to calm it and to push his swirling thoughts aside.

He sat up straight once he felt like he wasn’t confused or panicking. His hands tightened on the bayard in his hands and he looked down at it, staring at the black accents. It was strange to see the Black bayard in his hands, but, if even _ Keith _ was giving him his blessing, maybe he was actually _ meant _ to be the leader, at least for now. There were going to be times when he would be unsure or make a mistake, he was sure of that - if even Keith could screw up, then _ he _ definitely would - but he had his teammates to lean on. Lance had forgotten about that with all the stress and worry he’d been mired in this past quintant. 

Maybe he should trust the Black Lion more, Lance thought. After all, Blue and Red had known what they were doing. He’d been doubting himself _ and _ Black over her decision, but talking with Keith had reminded him of what Allura had said about the Lions at the start of all of this, of how there were certain qualities that the Lions could sense. They were sentient, and if Black had chosen him, he should let her help him as much as he could help her.

So, with another deep breath, he stood and lowered the bayard to his side. It disappeared: it was the first time he had let it be absorbed into his armour since he’d gotten it. As soon as he had, Black roared and moved. Lance turned to her, watching as she lowered her head and opened her mouth. The sight reminded him of Blue opening up for him on Earth and he grinned, some of his confidence coming back. They could do this. They would win. They had all five Lions and all the determination in the universe.

Bending to pick up his helmet, Lance shoved it onto his head as he ran up the ramp. As soon as he had it on, he activated the comms. “Hey, guys,” he said. “Are you all ready for this?” Because Lance was, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to anyone until he’d spoken to Keith again.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about having a little bit at the end where Lance sees Shiro in the psychic plane before or during whatever happens when they all go after clone!Shiro, but then decided against putting it in. It would be how they find out Shiro's in Black - and Shiro tells Lance he's doing good.
> 
> The rest of the seasons would play out pretty much the same... Except Lance is making the decisions. I've not really thought that through. Although, since Lotor is out there and doesn't know that Team Voltron knows about the colony, I'm thinking that he turns up to the Castle instead of fighting them and they trap him on board. Or something?
> 
> I just wanted to write this scene, basically.


End file.
